1st VR Newsletter for the Travel Industry

Editor Notes

“Experience the future before it becomes reality.” That’s the tag line of a new VR company I came across and I thought it was an effective, simple and accurate description. But then I remembered the last time I had a headset on and I was skiing down a Swiss mountain. My hands were grasping the poles. I was moving my body left and right as we swooshed. At that moment, it WAS MY REALITY. I don’t pretend that it was close to the actual feeling of skiing like a pro but for someone who has always been afraid of heights…it was magical! While I don’t have a skiing vacation on my bucket list, you can be sure the next time I will seek VR to preview what I have in mind. Happy new trails!

Star Wars' virtual reality experience to open near Disney parks this year Foxnews.com/travel“Star Wars” lovers now have something else to get excited about this holiday season. In addition to “The Last Jedi” – the second installment in the final trilogy – slated to release December of this year, Disney will also be launching its hyper-realistic virtual reality experience near both of its parks – Downtown Disney in Anaheim and Disney Springs in Florida. The experience is titled “Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire” and is a joint venture with Lucasfilm, ILMxLab, and The Void – a company who is pioneering “whole-body, fully immersive VR experience.” READ MORE

How AI, AR, and VR are making travel more convenientVenturebeat.comFrom 50 ways to leave your lover, as the song goes, to 750 types of shampoos, we live in an endless sea of choices. And although I haven’t been in the market for hair products in a while, I understand the appeal of picking a product that’s just right for you, even if the decision-making is often agonizing. This quandary (the “Goldilocks Syndrome”, of finding the option that is “just right”) has now made its way to the travel industry, as the race is on to deliver highly personalized and contextual offers for your next flight, hotel room or car rental. READ MORE

This art exhibition will have augmented reality cocktails that shift before your eyes Washingtonpost.comWhen you look at Artechouse's cocktail menu through your phone, words and images might leap off the page and swirl around. The exhibition around you could be visible inside your drink. It might even look like someone else is taking a sip. That's the plan for the interactive art space's upcoming augmented reality cocktail experience, opening Sept. 20 along with its new exhibitions. People already have their phones out for the space's super-Instagrammable first exhibition, “XYZT,” which closes Sept. 3. Now, their phones will become a critical part of their visit — it's how they'll view part of the exhibition. READ MORE

Davy Crockett to give tours of Alamo in new augmented reality app San Antonio Express NewsDavy Crockett’s been dead for 181 years, but the famed American frontiersman who died in the Battle of the Alamo is being resurrected by a group of Austin digital designers to lead tours of the site beginning early next year. Design firm Imagine Virtua is using the same “augmented reality” technology that propelled the Pokémon Go frenzy last summer for an app that will allow tourists to interact with virtual versions of Crockett, Mexican soldados and other figures from the historic fight for Texas’ independence. READ MORE

How technologies like artificial intelligence, blockchain, virtual reality are shaping the future of travel Webintravel.comThere is more forecast on the future of travel, this time from Sabre on the role technologies will play in shaping the travel landscape in the years ahead.The rather detailed 2017 Radar Report by Sabre Labs looks at nine tech trends impacting travel by studying the technologies and the impact they have on the travel industry. The trends identified as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, autonomous delivery, blockchain, neural interfaces, quantum computing, space tourism, trusted presence and virtual reality gets physical. READ MORE

AR We There Yet? How Augmented and Virtual Reality Are Reshaping RetailBronco.comIt’s an exciting time for both shoppers and retailers. Familiar yet time-consuming tasks, such as physically trying on clothes or guessing how a piece of furniture will look in your home, are giving way to more innovative, enriching and consumer-focused experiences. And it’s all thanks to the rapid advancement of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. READ MORE